5 Times Bones Says
by puravidaloco
Summary: "Damnit Jim!" and one time he doesn't have to. NO SLASH! Enjoy!


This is just another 5 and 1. The first 5 times Bones says our favorite phrase, "Damnit, Jim!". And one time he doesn't need to. Timeline spans from the Academy to the beginning of the 5 year mission. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! (except Kevin)

1. The first time he says it, they've been at the academy for a month.

McCoy was exhausted, utterly and absolutely bone-tired as he stumbled back from evening rounds at the campus hospital. He didn't know if he could handle this much longer. He had been at Starfleet for only four weeks. It had been four weeks of non-stop classes, homework, rounds, patients, a never-ending cacophony of activity and noise. Medical school was _absolutely nothing_ compared to this.

He punched in the code to his building. Despite being older, and supposedly privileged he had been forced to have a roommate. Starfleet Academy was overcrowded, but he saw no reason why they had to pair him with the nerdiest, whiniest, most annoying kid on the planet. No, scratch that, the galaxy. He reached his room and sighed. He hoped Kevin was asleep. He was not really up for the nightly argument about 'arriving at an unmentionable hour' and 'making insidious amounts of noise'.

He was completely surprised when he entered the room, and found a familiar figure lounging idly on Kevin's bed, playing with a PADD.

"_Damnit_…", he swore out loud, but was forced to stop short. For the life of him, he could not remember the name of the blue-eyed kid who saw copious vomiting as an open invitation of friendship. The kid seemed to dog his footsteps everywhere, from class to the mess hall, constantly talking, even though McCoy had _tried_ to make it clear that he did not want the company.

The boy raised his eyebrows as he glanced up from his PADD. "It's Jim, Bones. My name is Jim. Jim Kirk." he said, a hint of mischief in his tone.

McCoy just stared back at the kid, trying to figure out where in the hell he had acquired the nickname 'Bones' (which was just _awful_) and why the kid was sitting on his roommate's bed. He finally managed to speak. "My roommate is going to be pissed. He doesn't like people touching his things." (McCoy had found this out when he had picked up pair of shoes he had tripped over on the floor and had to endure an hour long tirade about mutual respect for property.)

Kirk just smiled, his eyes straying back to his PADD. "I don't think your roommate will mind so much."

McCoy just stared, dumfounded. This kid was brash. "What? Why?"

Kirk smiled, still staring at his PADD. "Because, I'm your roommate."

"_DAMNIT, JIM!"_ McCoy exploded.

But, later that night, after Kirk had explained his system hacking, regaled him with a hilarious tale of Kevin being unceremoniously dumped into the hall, argued McCoy into sticking with the new arrangement, and had finally gone to bed, McCoy was grateful. Kirk was much easier to live with than Kevin.

For the first time in a month, Leonard McCoy slept peacefully.

2. The second time he says it, summer is upon them.

Summer fever had struck, McCoy noted from his seat at the bar. The place was packed with people, mostly Starfleet Academy students, kicking off the four week summer leave with a bang. McCoy felt oddly out of place here. The excited students were mingling, partying, shouting, dancing, flirting, and here he was, sitting at the bar like a grumpy old coon. He took a slow swallow of brandy, sighing. Why had he let Jim talk him into this?

_Jim_, he noted, irritably, was currently occupying himself with a curvaceous blonde just a few stools down. He was leaning forward, whispering in her ear, one hand lazily resting on her thigh, flashing her his 1000 watt smile. If Jim Kirk knew how to do anything, he knew how to charm a woman. She was eating it up, leaning into him, smiling as she leaned forward to whisper back into his ear.

McCoy was utterly surprised, then, when Jim suddenly stiffened, pulling back from the girl ever so slightly. The change in Kirk's body language was so abrupt, that McCoy wondered if the play was going bad.

Suddenly, Jim seemed to relax, though he leaned away from the girl as he turned to lounge casually against the bar. McCoy shook his head and took another pull of brandy. He needed to escape. He was surprised when he heard Kirk's voice close by.

"Bones!" Kirk said, jovially, as he slapped McCoy on the back. "Meet Kayla. Kayla, this is Bones. You two have fun." And then he just disappeared. Vanished, just like that into thin air, leaving McCoy in the awkward company of a beautiful blonde. McCoy wondered why as he turned to…_Kayla_, screwing a polite smile onto his face. He was surprised to find that she was already nearly on top of him, her hands creeping their way to some more…awkward places as she leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

Her whispered suggestions of 'making love' and 'babies' had him up off his barstool (nearly knocking the crazy blonde to the floor) and sprinting for the door after Kirk, bellowing, "DAMNIT JIM!"

Kirk would use him as a dump off for the crazy women.

3. The third time he says it they are on the _Enterprise_

_Ok_, he thought, _this is it. It's clear now. Jim Kirk is officially insane. _Why else would someone jolt awake from a powerful sedative, with an amazing amount of swelling from a severe allergic reaction, and run out of sickbay with a heart pounding at an astonishing 160 beats per minute?

He had to be feeling that, McCoy thought as he ran after Jim, shouting to try to make him stop. The kid was puffing and panting, unable to stand still, shouting at the computer to find Uhura. Something about stopping the ship. McCoy didn't care. He was afraid the reaction would kill Kirk, and was just waiting for the kid to buckle under the strain.

Of course, Kirk didn't even seem to feel the reaction, and just as McCoy had the hypo ready, Kirk was running away from him. Again.

And finally McCoy couldn't stand it any more. From behind the running, hyped up cadet, he thundered "Damnit, Jim! Stand still!" He wasn't sure if it was his shouting, or the crowds that stopped Jim just long enough to jab the hypo in his neck. He didn't care. More symptoms were showing up anyway.

4. The fourth time he says it, they are walking out of a ceremony.

It was unreal. He couldn't believe it as he walked out of the ceremony shoulder to shoulder with his best friend, James T. Kirk. Make that, _Captain_ James T. Kirk. The crazy kid had managed to destroy the _Narada_, rescue the now-Admiral Pike, and save the Earth, and had been named Captain.

Suddenly, McCoy was _really _glad he had managed to smuggle Jim aboard.

They stepped into the lobby of the Assembly hall, where a reception was being held. There was joy here, McCoy noted, watching as people talked and laughed together, but it was tinged by grief. McCoy could see it in the prolonged embraces between the cadets as they whispered words of comfort to eachother. So many lost. He knew Jim could feel it too, he could see it in the slight slump of the kid's shoulders as he looked around the crowded hall that still seemed far too empty.

Kirk suddenly straightened, a smile finding a way to his face and lighting up his electric-blue eyes as he saw Admiral Pike being wheeled out of the reception hall. He elbowed McCoy in the ribs, pointing to the Admiral. "I told him I would do it in three years."

McCoy smiled. "Damnit, Jim." he muttered as he casually draped his arm over Jim's shoulders, dragging him towards the refreshments table.

5. The fifth time he says it, it's the first of many away missions gone bad.

_Blood_. It was everywhere. Red, slick, and coppery smelling, it stained the normally pristine, glowing transport pad. It was rapidly soaking into McCoy's pants, but he ignored the uncomfortable sensation, his entire being focused on stopping the flow that he was now elbow deep in, searching for the bleeder that was in the _gaping hole_ in Captain James T. Kirk's chest.

They couldn't have known the distress call was a trap. They couldn't have anticipated the crude, but effective spear-like weapons. And no one could have predicted that Jim would knock a security ensign out of the way of a particularly brutal spear thrust to take it himself.

Well, maybe McCoy could have predicted that, knowing this self sacrificing idiot he called his best friend so well.

His fingers found the bleed, and he clamped it, relieved as he felt the steady flow slowing. He barked into his conn, demanding an OR be prepped for their arrival as a Nurse Chapel and a few orderlies helped him carefully transfer Jim to a gurney.

He entered the OR in his usual brusque and bristly manner, sterilized, scrubbed and ready for surgery. He looked down at the pale figure of his best friend on the bed as Nurse Chapel snapped on his gloves. "Damnit Jim." he muttered as he began repairing the damage to his friend. "You are _not_ going to die on me today."

6. He almost says it, but he doesn't need to.

It was Father's Day. He _hated _Father's Day. This day was just another painful reminder of all that he had lost.

He was on a Starship, admittedly close to Earth (they were currently orbiting the moon while repairs were being made), but still miles away from his little girl. She was seven now, and bright and beautiful as a summer's day. He wished he could talk to her more, but his duties this day had kept him away from the communicator. He had been exceptionally busy that day, tending to millions of minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises that wouldn't normally need his attention, but these whiny kids just would not shut up today. Scotty had just called him to the transport room, sounding worried and scared. He hoped the overly hungry Scotsman had something more worthwhile than a papercut for him. He wanted to get to his communicator. He needed to see his baby girl.

The doors to transport slid open, and he saw Scotty, who was kneeling in front of a small girl with long brown hair. Her back was to McCoy, but whatever she had just said made Scotty smile widely. Suddenly the girl whirled and faced him.

McCoy cried out in shock. _Joanna_. His little girl, the light of his life was here, on the _Enterprise. _She ran to him, shouting, "Daddy!", her arms spread wide, and he let his medical kit fall to the floor as he dropped to his knees, gathering his girl into his arms.

He felt the tears running down his face, but he didn't care. He was holding his little girl in his arms again. He could smell here sweet, sunny smell, and feel her little arms around his neck as her laughter sang in his ears.

He suddenly noticed Jim, lounging casually against the transporter controls, a soft smile on his face. As he met Kirk's eyes, the young Captain beamed, his eyes lighting up. "Happy Father's day, Bones." He said, softly.

McCoy clutched his daughter tightly, still staring at his best friend. He felt the familiar _Damnit, Jim! _die on his lips. He really could not speak, and he hoped the grateful look he gave his friend was enough.

He was holding his daughter. He _loved_ Father's Day.


End file.
